Raj Bhavan of Uttarakhand was temporarily established at Bijapur, after the state of Uttarakhand (earlier known as Uttaranchal) came into being on 9th November 2000 as the number 27 state of the Republic of India.
With the formation of the new state Uttarakhand, the Raj Bhawan was temporarily set up at Bijapur House located on New Cantonment Road, Dehradun. After which the circuit house of Dehradun was redesigned as Raj Bhawan where the first governor of the state, Shri Surjit Singh Barnala took his office. The present Raj Bhavan which was previously known as Circuit House was constructed in the year 1902. It was then popularly known as "Court House" where the then British Governor of United Province (which now known as Uttar Pradesh) used to live. In the post-colonial period, first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru used to stay in this building whenever he visited Dehradun. Since then, various Presidents of India and all the Prime Ministers, so far, have stayed in the prestigious building during their visit to Dehradun. The Raj Bhawan building is located at a height of 2305 feet from sea level.
When Raj Bhavan was shifted to Circuit House, the Secretariat of Governor continued to function from Bijapur House premises till July 27th 2009. The new Raj Bhawan Auditorium and Secretariat buildings were inaugurated by H.E. Shri B. L. Joshi (the 3rd Governor of Uttarakhand). Later a separate building was set up for the governor in the premises and was inaugurated by Smt Margaret Alva on 14th April, 2010. The previously known Circuit House, which is the old building, is now known as Raj Bhawan. The Bonsai Garden, and sprawling lawns and the variety of floral species add to the beauty and charm of Raj Bhawan.
The auditorium is a special venue of Raj Bhawan where important events like seminars, oath taking ceremonies, book release functions and cultural programs etc are regularly organised. Uttarakhand happens to be one of the few states in India which boast of two Raj Bhawans. The second Raj Bhawan building in Uttarakhand is located in Nainital. In the pre-independence phase, Nainital was the summer capital of United Provinces (now known as Uttar Pradesh), and this charming building constructed like a Scottish castle was baptized as "Government House". Post independence it was renamed as Raj Bhawan. The foundation stone of Nainital Raj Bhawan, the construction of which took 2 years, was laid on 27th April 1897. The designs employed were of European origin based om Gothic Architecture.
The designers of Raj Bhawan (Nainital) were the Executive Engineer FOW Ortel and Architect Stevens. The wood world in the entire building has been done with teak wood and there has been use of local stone work as well, with Ashler`s finishing. Some of the prestigious occupants of the Raj Bhawan (Nainital) in the colonial include Sir John Misten, Sir Harcourt Butler, Sir Antony Mac Donald, Sir James, who were the then Governors of the United Provinces. In the post-colonial period, the first Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Smt. Sarojini Naidu, was the first inhabitant of this momentous monument.
Adjoining the Raj Bhawan is 160 acres of long forest land which has a number of faunal species. There are large numbers of flower species as well. The Raj Bhawan has a Golf Course spread over an area of 45 acres which was built in the year 1936. It is one of the period golf courses in the country, and is allied to the Indian Golf Union (IGU).
